Just the Beginning
by Zip Goes A Million
Summary: Gwen is holding a house party to mark the end of exams. Sybil has some duties to fulfill as Gwen's best friend, but gets distracted by a certain Irishman crossing her path.


_I really haven't been feeling the writing vibe recently. I have something in the pipeline, and hopefully it'll get finished soon, but at the moment it's a tad hectic because I'm moving into my university accommodation next week and everything's sort of up in the air. I'll do my best, but make no promises. In the meantime, here's a little one-shot drabble. I hope you like it. Please leave a review if you can spare a few seconds._

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 **Just the Beginning**

"Sybil!" Gwen called across the room to her best friend, hoping she would be able to hear over the loud music.

Sybil spun around to figure out who had called for her. When she caught Gwen's eye, she smiled at her and fought her way through the crowd of people chatting, drinking and dancing along to the music.

Gwen was having a house party to mark the end of the year's exams. As much as she loved parties and loved hanging out with her friends, she rarely hosted parties. Only now was she remembering why. So far, a cupboard door had been broken off its hinges, two separate fights had started and three people had thrown up thanks to excessive alcohol consumption.

As soon as Sybil was in arm's reach of Gwen, Gwen grabbed Sybil's hand and pulled her out onto the patio, where it was slightly quieter and a lot cooler.

"Hey," Sybil said with a smile. There were so many people crammed into the small space of Gwen's student house that Sybil and Gwen had hardly spent any time together all evening.

Gwen didn't reply, but looked over Sybil's shoulder back into the house with a furrowed brow.

"What's up?" Sybil asked, concerned for her best friend.

"My ex is here," Gwen said, biting her nails as she looked through the kitchen window.

"Ooh, which one?" Sybil said with a smirk as she turned around to follow Gwen's gaze.

Gwen hit Sybil on the arm, causing her to jolt her gaze back around to look at her red-headed friend.

"What?" Sybil laughed. "All of your exes are crazy hot – I can look, can't I?"

"It's Peter," Gwen said, ignoring Sybil's question. "I didn't invite him. He shouldn't be here."

Peter was still somewhat of a sore subject with Gwen. They had started dating about eight months ago and had broken up less than a month ago. It was by no means a mutual decision and it had left Gwen distraught and heartbroken, barely able to leave her house for days.

"So what?" Sybil said. "Ignore him. There are enough people at this party that you don't even have to talk to him if you don't want to. Just stay on the opposite side of the room from him and you won't have a problem."

"Come with me," Gwen said, taking Sybil by the hand and leading her back into the house. Gwen found a corner in the kitchen where she could spy on Peter without him noticing her. "Oh my God, has he brought a girl with him?" she shrieked. Luckily the music and hum of talking was loud enough that he wasn't able to hear her.

"Wow, he's gorgeous," Sybil breathed.

"Sybil," Gwen whined. "You're supposed to be my best friend! Best friends don't drool over best friend's exes!"

"No, no, not Peter. Who's that?" she said, pointing to a man walking out onto the patio. "He's beautiful."

"That's Tom. He lives a few doors down," Gwen said, not really interested. "How does he have the audacity to bring another girl with him?"

Sybil stared after Tom and only returned her attention to Gwen when a freckled hand waved in front of her eyes.

"What did you say?" Sybil asked, snapping out of her trance.

"I think he's brought another girl with him," Gwen said.

"But he only broke up with you a few weeks ago," Sybil said, craning her neck to see who he was with. She didn't look like anything special. She was blonde and leggy and probably had a brain the size of a pea. "I bet it's just sex."

"Do you think?" Gwen asked.

"Well I doubt they're dating. He hasn't had any time to form a relationship with anyone else yet," Sybil reassured.

"I suppose," Gwen sighed.

"Just forget about it, Gwen," Sybil said. "Don't let him ruin your night. Ignore him."

"Fine," Gwen said, before being whisked onto the dance floor by another friend.

Sybil laughed at her best friend. Although she was stressing about her ex, it was nice to know that she was surrounded by friends. Whether it was Sybil or any number of Gwen's other friends, she always had someone to turn to, should she need the support.

Sybil was getting a bit too warm, so she wandered outside for some fresh air. As she walked through the archway onto the patio, she felt the breeze hit her and was thankful for the cool air.

"Hey, um, excuse me," someone said behind her.

She turned around, curious as to who the voice belonged to.

"Hi," she said, noticing him as the man she'd called gorgeous earlier.

"Hi, I'm Tom," he said, a little awkwardly.

"Sybil," she replied.

"Um, I just wanted to say, I think you're gorgeous too," he said.

"Sorry?" Sybil said, needing confirmation for what she'd heard.

"I heard you say earlier that you thought I was gorgeous," he said in an Irish accent thick enough to send an arrow through any girl's heart. "I think you're gorgeous too," he said.

"Thanks," Sybil said, feeling her cheeks blush. "But you don't want to say that too loudly or your girlfriend will overhear." Sybil was trying to be calm about the situation, but was struggling rather.

"I don't have a girlfriend," he said with a slanted smirk.

"Really?" Sybil said, partly surprised that a man as handsome as him could be single and partly hoping she could fill the void.

"Have been for two years," Tom said, shrugging his shoulders, though he was clearly feeling a little self-conscious.

"Two years?" Sybil asked. "Come on, you can't tell me that you've not had girls interested in you for two years."

"Plenty of girls, but none where the feeling was reciprocated," he said. "I was wondering if you'd like to, maybe, break that trend."

"Are you, um, asking me out?" Sybil said, unable to stop a smile from forming across her red-painted lips.

"Yes, I would very much like to go on a date with you, and I would very much like you to say yes," he said. His words were rushed and his cheeks were quickly filling with blood. Luckily the dark night sky hid that to some extent.

"Yes, I'll go on a date with you. Absolutely, I will," Sybil said, her smile widening and her breath hitching in her throat. "If you give me your number," she said, getting out her phone, "I'll text you later." She made a new contact and handed her phone to Tom so that he could type in his number. When he handed her phone back, their fingers touched and Sybil felt a shot of desire speed through her body. "Thanks," she said as calmly as she could.

Tom opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped in his tracks by Gwen calling "Sybil!" from inside. He knew that it was meant for her. How many other women called Sybil was there likely to be at this party?

Sybil turned to see Gwen looking for her and said, "Gwen's calling for me. I've got to…" She gestured back towards the house as she started slowly moving away. "But, I guess I'll see you around," she said, cocking her head slightly to the side. "I'll text you tomorrow."

"I look forward to it," he said, clearly a little calmer now, though the colour hadn't yet drained from his cheeks.

"Great. Bye," she said, turning away.

She walked away from Tom and towards Gwen and wanted to scream for joy. It was for moments like this when Sybil loved having a best friend. What are best friends for if not comforting you when your ex turns up uninvited to your party with another girl, or jumping around with you when you get asked out by a handsome Irishman? With a dash of luck, today was going to be the start of something very special.


End file.
